Maine is a place apart from the mainstream of American society. Beginning early in Maine’s history, settlers, merchants, visitors, artists, and writers brought images of Maine to the rest of the world that shaped the State's economy, identity, and heritage. The history behind the image of Maine remains a vital part of how we and those from away view Maine today.

Land disputes, tensions about resource allocation and European wars combined to trigger intense strife and armed conflict between Maine's English, French and Native populations. The Frontier Wars were a series of six wars spanning nearly a century that devastated populations in Maine, and had a permanent and chilling effect on the relations between English settlers and Native Americans.

For those plants and animals that don't migrate south for winter, a lot of preparation goes into getting ready for winter. When it comes to dealing with winter, plants and animals know things we humans don't.

As Europeans began to look seriously towards Maine as a desirable economic region, there were many debates about who owned or controlled the varied and plentiful natural resources, especially timber. In the mid-1800’s, the timber harvest from the communities in the far north woods traveled via the river communities to the prosperous coast where the wealth of natural resources set sail for the world beyond. Today, these distinct regions remain intact, each with a different story to tell about how history has played itself out since that time.

The Penobscot disaster is usually regarded as the worst American Naval disaster with the exception of Pearl Harbor. An accidental archeological discovery in the Penobscot River sheds new light on the desperate last moments of the worst defeat of the American Revolution.